This invention relates generally to protective bumper strip assemblies for protecting furniture edges, wall and display case surfaces and the like and more particularly, to an end piece or terminator assembly for the protective strips. Protective strip assemblies using resilient strip materials in various types of channels are known in the art, as illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,083,592 and 4,808,451 and co-assigned allow patent application U.S. Pat. No. 383,905, filed on Jul. 21, 1989 now U.S. Pat No. 5,013,596 entitled "Improved Resilient Strip and Mounting Member for Flush Fitting Protective Strip Assembly" and co-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 383,763, filed on Jul. 21, 1989 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,244 entitled "Corner Assembly for Flush Fitting Protective Strip Assembly" and the patents cited therein, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. The protective strip assembly disclosed in the patents includes a rigid channel mounting member partially surrounded by a strip of a resilient material, such as rubber, or vinyl. The channel mounting member, which may be roughly rectangular in its outside cross-section, attaches to a surface to be protected.
The invention is used with flush fitting protective strip assemblies of the prior art, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, which features a mounting member 10 and an elongated strip 12 of resilient material. Strip 12, a rectangular body (which may also be semi-cylindrical), is secured in and partially surrounds the mounting member 10. As shown in FIG. 1, when installed, the protective strip fits flush against the edge of the surface to be protected 14. The mounting member 10 is not visible once the assembly is installed. Part of the resilient strip 12 has been removed from FIG. 1, in order to better show the mounting member 10. One embodiment of resilient strip also includes a pair of radially-inwardly extending latch members 16, each extending longitudinally of the strip 12. An embodiment of the mounting member 10 includes a web portion 18 having a pair of oppositely disposed web-latch extensions 20 and two leg members 22 extending from the web portion 18 away from the semi-cylindrical body. A pair of oppositely disposed base members 24, each extend from a leg member 22, away from each other and each terminate in a base latch portion 26. As shown, both the base latch portions 26 and the radial latch members 16 terminate in hooks. This feature is fully described in U.S. Ser. No. 383,905, identified above. Each of the pair of web latch extensions and each of the pair of base latch portions mates with the semi-cylindrical body adjacent the radial latch member. The resilient strip 12 is thus positively engaged with the mounting member 10. The invention is also suitable for use with a channel where the base latch extensions 26 have no terminal hook, also described fully U.S. Ser. No. 383,905 as well as with a resilient strip having a hollow radially projecting latch extension, described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,808,451, identified above.
The present invention relates to end piece or terminator assemblies and corner assemblies for flush fitting protective strips. Prior art end pieces or strip terminators have consisted largely of separate elements that are partially secured by the mounting member and butt up against the end of the vinyl strip 12, attempting to provide a flush fit. It is also known to provide support separate from the mounting member, and to butt up against this component also. These prior art terminators suffer from a shortcoming due to the fact that the vinyl shrinks after having been stretched during installation, and also generally over time even without initial stretching. When the vinyl shrinks, a gap grows between the vinyl and the end piece. The gap is unsightly and provides a point at which the strip can be caught or snagged. The strips can be accidentally pulled out of their mounting due to the protrusion of this catch point Depending on the orientation of the gap and the use of the bumper, it can also become a collection spot from food waste, dirt and other unwanted detritus. Therefore, the presence of the gap, to some extent, defeats the purpose of the bumper assembly
As will be understood the shrinking vinyl also poses a problem in connection with corner assemblies, which are a special case of end assemblies. A known device of the prior art uses a corner piece and an adaptor. This type of corner is described fully in the above referenced U.S. Ser. No. 383,763. It features a two-piece assembly, of a corner piece and an adaptor piece. Each piece has a virtually identical mounting portion, provided with a set of co-linear latch members for engaging a resilient strip of the type shown in FIG. 1 at 12. The corner piece and the adaptor are each shaped so that they positively engage each other upon assembly. The corner piece has a slotted head portion adjoining the mounting portion. The adaptor has a head portion with a curved tongue, of a size and shape to fit within the slot of the head on the corner section. The tongue pivots into the receptacle, with the terminal portion of the tongue following a roughly circular path. The terminal portions of the tongue and the deepest most recess of the receptacle are congruently shaped to provide a positive engagement achieved upon the resilient locking of the fully inserted tongue into the head. The mounting member portions of each the corner and the adaptor are provided with holes for attaching each to the surface to be protected with screws, tacks or other suitable means.
The head portion has a flat face, which butts up against the end of the resilient strip. In order to avoid the shrinkage problem, an adhesive has sometimes been used to secure the vinyl strip to the corner and adaptor pieces. Because it is very difficult to adhere vinyl to metal, it is necessary to make the corner and adaptor pieces out of vinyl also. Although this solves the shrinkage problem to some extent, it suffers from the drawback of the need for using an adhesive. Use of adhesive adds a complicating factor, due to questions of safety during installation, securing the components in place during adhesive setting and long term durability. It is also necessary to make a pair of different and rather complicated vinyl pieces.
It is also known in the prior art to form a corner by using the resilient strip alone, without using any special corner piece. This method is rather crude and results in a sloppy appearance. It is often necessary to cut notches into the strip so that it lies flat and does not bulge out. It is difficult to neatly secure such strips to the corner without allowing them to droop.
Thus, the several objects of the invention include: to provide an end piece or terminator assembly for a flush fitting strip assembly that secures the resilient strip in place to resist shrinkage; that avoids the use of adhesives; that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture; that facilitates an aesthetic design; that hides rough cuts on vinyl ends; that will resist the formation of gaps between the strip and the end piece, and that can also be modified for use as a component in a corner assembly for a flush fitting protective strip assembly that enjoys the foregoing advantages.